WCEL contributes to the Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference

Tue, 01 Aug 2017

The Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference convened from 18-20 July 2017 in Honolulu (USA). Meeting at the same venue that hosted the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress, scientists, policymakers, practitioners, educators, students, and the community gathered to continue momentum for conservation across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

Denise Antolini, WCEL Deputy Chair, participated in the 24th Annual Hawai’i Conservation Conference in Honolulu on 18-20 July where she was a panelist is a discussion on the Hawai’i Commitments adopted by IUCN’s 1,300 members in 2016. The panel included the Honorable David Ige (Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi), Chipper Wichman (CEO and Director of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens), Ulalia Woodside (Executive Director, Nature Conservancy, Hawaiʻi), and was moderated by ‘Aulani Wilhelm (Senior Vice-President at Conservation international’s Center for Oceans) They examined the Commitments as the basis of global conservation priorities over the next four years, Hawaiʻi’s role in implementing them, and charting the course for the state to further its role as a global leader. During her remarks, Denise Antolini cited the work of WCEL through the IUCN World Declaration on the Environmental Rule of Law, the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment (GJIE), and the Hawai’i Environmental Court as part of the global green courts movement. Over the course of the three-day Conference, the program featured more than 50 sessions providing learning opportunities about new technologies, methods and approaches, advances in research, and successful partnerships across the field, as well as a session for all current and prospective IUCN members to discuss why and how to get involved in the Union. In the closing session, Denise Antolini was awarded the Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance Distinguished Service Award for her role promoting the protection of the environment in the state and around the world.